The American Association for Thoracic Surgery (AATS) 2022 Expert Consensus Document: The use of mechanical circulatory support in lung transplantation

ObjectiveThe use of mechanical circulatory support (MCS) in lung transplantation has been steadily increasing over the prior decade, with evolving strategies for incorporating support in the preoperative, intraoperative, and postoperative settings. There is significant practice variability in the use of these techniques, however, and relatively limited data to help establish institutional protocols. The objective of the AATS Clinical Practice Standards Committee (CPSC) expert panel was to review the existing literature and establish recommendations about the use of MCS before, during, and after lung transplantation.MethodsThe AATS CPSC assembled an expert panel of 16 lung transplantation physicians who developed a consensus document of recommendations. The panel was broken into subgroups focused on preoperative, intraoperative, and postoperative support, and each subgroup performed a focused literature review. These subgroups formulated recommendation statements for each subtopic, which were evaluated by the entire group. The statements were then developed via discussion among the panel and refined until consensus was achieved on each statement.ResultsThe expert panel achieved consensus on 36 recommendations for how and when to use MCS in lung transplantation. These recommendations included the use of veno-venous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) as a bridging strategy in the preoperative setting, a preference for central veno-arterial ECMO over traditional cardiopulmonary bypass during the transplantation procedure, and the benefit of supporting selected patients with MCS postoperatively.ConclusionsAchieving optimal results in lung transplantation requires the use of a wide range of strategies. MCS provides an important mechanism for helping these critically ill patients through the peritransplantation period. Despite the complex nature of the decision making process in the treatment of these patients, the expert panel was able to achieve consensus on 36 recommendations. These recommendations should provide guidance for professionals involved in the care of end-stage lung disease patients considered for transplantation.     

Promising role of D-amino acids in irritable bowel syndrome

Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is an important health care concern. Alterations in the microbiota of the gut-brain axis may be linked to the pathophysiology of IBS. Some dietary intake could contribute to produce various metabolites including D-amino acids by the fermentation by the gut microbiota. D-amino acids are the enantiomeric counterparts of L-amino acids, in general, which could play key roles in cellular physiological processes against various oxidative stresses. Therefore, the presence of D-amino acids has been shown to be linked to the protection of several organs in the body. In particular, the gut microbiota could play significant roles in the stability of emotion via the action of D-amino acids. Here, we would like to shed light on the roles of D-amino acids, which could be used for the treatment of IBS.     

Long-term survival and postoperative complications of pre-liver transplantation transarterial chemoembolisation in hepatocellular carcinoma: A systematic review and meta-analysis

ObjectivesThe aim of this meta-analysis was to conduct a contemporary systematic review of high quality non-randomised controlled trials to determine the effect of pre-liver transplantation (LT) transarterial chemoembolisation (TACE) on long-term survival and complications of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients.BackgroundTACE is used as a neoadjuvant therapy to mitigate waitlist drop-out for patients with HCC awaiting LT. Previous studies have conflicting conclusions on the effect of TACE on long-term survival and complications of HCC patients undergoing LT.MethodsCINAHL, Cochrane Controlled Register of Trials, Embase, PubMed, and Web of Science were systematically searched. Baseline characteristics included number of patients outside Milan criteria, tumour diameter, MELD score, and time on the waiting list. Primary outcomes included 3- and 5-year overall and disease-free survival. Secondary outcomes included tumour recurrence, 30-day postoperative mortality, and hepatic artery and biliary complications.ResultsTwenty-one high-quality NRCTs representing 8242 patients were included. Tumour diameter was significantly larger in TACE patients (3.49 cm vs 3.15 cm, P = 0.02) and time on the waiting list was significantly longer in TACE patients (4.87 months vs 3.46 months, P = 0.05), while MELD score was significantly higher in non-TACE patients (10.81 vs 12.35, P = 0.005). All primary and secondary outcomes displayed non-significant differences.ConclusionPatients treated with TACE had similar survival and postoperative outcomes to non-TACE patients, however, they had worse prognostic features compared to non-TACE patients. These findings strongly support the current US and European clinical practice guidelines that neoadjuvant TACE can be used for patients with longer expected waiting list times (specifically >6 months). Randomised controlled trials would be needed to increase the quality of evidence.     

CD19+CD24hiCD38hi B细胞比例预测肝移植术后急性细胞性排斥反应发生的临床研究

目的分析肝移植术后受者外周血CD19⁺CD24^hiCD38^hi B细胞占单个核细胞比例变化情况及其与急性细胞性排斥反应(ACR)之间的关系。 方法回顾性分析2013年12月至2015年12月在浙江大学医学院附属第一医院接受心脏死亡器官捐献肝移植的80例成人受者临床资料，根据术后是否发生ACR，将受者分为ACR组(25例)和非ACR组(55例)。术前、术后各个时间点抽取参加研究者静脉血并分离外周血单个核细胞，加入异硫氰酸荧光素-单克隆鼠抗人CD19抗体、藻红蛋白-单克隆鼠抗人CD24抗体和别藻蓝蛋白-单克隆鼠抗人CD38抗体，流式细胞仪检测各组CD19⁺CD24^hiCD38^hi B细胞百分比。采用t检验和单因素方差分析比较正态分布计量资料，采用χ²检验比较计数资料，采用Kaplan-Meier法绘制受试者工作特征曲线(ROC曲线)。P<0.05为差异有统计学意义。 结果ACR组、非ACR组受者术前外周血平均CD19⁺CD24^hiCD38^hi B细胞比例分别为(3.13±0.91)%、(3.49±0.83)%，差异无统计学意义(t＝1.636，P>0.05)。ACR组术后发生ACR前外周血平均CD19⁺CD24^hiCD38^hi B细胞比例为(1.87±0.70)%。非ACR组受者术后3个月、6个月和1年外周血平均CD19⁺CD24^hiCD38^hi B细胞比例分别为(1.64±0.52)%、(1.63±0.56)%和(2.04±1.24)%，术后3、6个月平均值均低于术前和术后1年，差异均有统计学意义(P均<0.05)。ACR组受者发生ACR时外周血平均CD19⁺CD24^hiCD38^hi B细胞比例为(0.8±0.5)%，低于发生ACR前的平均水平(t＝5.752，P<0.05)，且低于非ACR组术后3个月、6个月和1年的平均水平(P<0.05)。ACR组受者接受抗排斥反应治疗后，CD19⁺CD24^hiCD38^hi B细胞比例也逐渐增加，ACR发生后7 d为(0.84±0.08)%，与ACR发生时相比差异无统计学意义(P>0.05)；而发生30 d后达(1.65±0.18)%，与ACR发生时相比差异有统计学意义(P<0.05)。当截断值为1.015%时，CD19⁺CD24^hiCD38^hi B细胞比例预测ACR发生的敏感度和特异度分别为0.786和0.702，ROC曲线下面积为0.775(95%CI: 0.671~0.879，P<0.05)。 结论CD19⁺CD24^hiCD38^hi B细胞比例下降与肝移植术后ACR反应发生有关，并可作为预测ACR发生的细胞标志物。     

Pure laparoscopic living donor liver transplantation: Dreams come true

Minimally invasive approaches are increasingly being applied in surgeries and have recently been used in living donor hepatectomy. We have developed a safe and reproducible method for minimally invasive living donor liver transplantation, which consists of pure laparoscopic explant hepatectomy and pure laparoscopic implantation of the graft, which was inserted through a suprapubic incision. Pure laparoscopic explant hepatectomy without liver fragmentation was performed in a 60-year-old man with alcoholic liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. The explanted liver was retrieved through a suprapubic incision. A modified right liver graft, procured from his 24-year-old son using the pure laparoscopic method, was inserted through a suprapubic incision, and implantation was performed intracorporeally throughout the procedure. The time required to remove the liver was 369 min, and the total operative time was 960 min. No complications occurred during or after the surgery. The patient recovered well, and his hospital stay was of 11 days. Pure laparoscopic living donor liver transplantation from explant hepatectomy to implantation was performed successfully. It is a feasible procedure when performed by a highly experienced surgeon and transplantation team. Further studies with larger sample sizes are needed to confirm its safety and feasibility.

     

Functions of the endothelium and its role in hematopoietic cell transplantation

The endothelium is a single-layered structure that responds to physical and chemical signals with various factors it synthesizes. In the early days of its discovery, as the inner wall of the vessels, the endothelium was thought to be a simple barrier that lays on the surface. Over time it is discovered that endothelium maintains body homeostasis with the molecules it synthesizes, despite its simple single-layer structure. It has been accepted as an important organ that contributes to the maintenance of vascular tone, cell adhesion, inflammation, vascular permeability and coagulation. Any imbalance in these physiological and pathological events causes endothelial dysfunction. This can cause many diseases such as atherosclerosis, hypertension, diabetes, or it can occur because of these. Endothelial related disorders may also complicate hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT), which is used to treat various hematologic and neoplastic diseases. These life-threatening complications include graft-versus-host disease, hepatic veno-occlussive disease, transplant-associated thrombotic microangiopathy and diffuse alveolar hemorrhage. They share a similar pathophysiology involving endothelial cells with different clinical presentations. Therefore, current researche on the issue is putting the endothelium under the spotlight for novel markers and treatment options that should be used to monitor or treat at least some of these complications following HSCT.